


That's not how it happened. This is how it happened.

by cac0daemonia



Series: Clone Wars: Reconstruction Corps AU [13]
Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, CC-2224 | Cody is a Good Bro, CT-27-5555 | ARC-5555 | Fives Lives, CT-7567 | Rex is a Good Bro, Clones, Fix-It, Fox Gets A Nap, Gen, Kaminoans Being Assholes (Star Wars), Medical Procedures, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Panic Attacks, Reconstruction Corps AU, Sheev Palpatine Being A Creep, Waxer Lives (Star Wars), but nothing graphic, codywan pre-relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-13 18:40:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29033334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cac0daemonia/pseuds/cac0daemonia
Summary: ARC Trooper Fives is on the run from the Coruscant Guard after being accused of trying to assassinate the Supreme Chancellor. But General Skywalker can't be reached, so only Rex arrives at the warehouse in the lower levels to meet Fives...
Relationships: CC-2224 | Cody & CC-1010 | Fox, CC-2224 | Cody & CT-7567 | Rex, CC-2224 | Cody & Obi-Wan Kenobi, CC-2224 | Cody & Waxer, CC-2224 | Cody/Obi-Wan Kenobi, CT-27-5555 | ARC-5555 | Fives & CT-7567 | Rex, Fives & Waxer
Series: Clone Wars: Reconstruction Corps AU [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2048891
Comments: 107
Kudos: 425
Collections: Captain Rex Stuff, Echo&Fives





	That's not how it happened. This is how it happened.

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fic I've ever written, so I owe a _huge_ thanks to [Crystalshard](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crystalshard/pseuds/Crystalshard) and [Tate_The_Great](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tate_The_Great/pseuds/Tate_The_Great) for all the hand-holding and constructive criticism! And thanks again to Crystalshard for lending me Hazard. <3
> 
> As with everything else in the Reconstruction Corps AU, this is utterly self-indulgent and just me trying to give all these wonderful characters the happiness they deserve.
> 
> I don't _think_ this fic needs any warnings, and I tried to be thorough with the tags, but please let me know if I've overlooked anything!
> 
> [Tumblr](https://cacodaemonia.tumblr.com/)

Fives feels like he’s going to puke. Or his heart’s going to beat out of his chest. Maybe both.

He pulls at the collar of his blacks. They usually help regulate body temperature in different environments, but right now he’s sweating through the material. He shakes his head, trying to clear it. He just has to hold it together long enough to talk to Rex and General Skywalker. They’ll know what to do. General Skywalker’s a Jedi. He can help.

Fives closes his eyes and leans his head against the crates concealing him. He’s not sure how much time passes while he sits there fighting nausea, but eventually he hears what sounds like a speeder touching down on the landing pad outside. This had better work.

“Fives?” a brother’s voice—it has to be Rex—calls out, sounding hollow in the large space. He’s not wearing his bucket, then. Fives eyes the ray shield control panel near his hiding spot. He just needs to keep Rex and the General moving in this direction until they're under the shield generator...

Fives tries to take a steadying breath, but his lungs won’t quite cooperate. He hears a single set of quiet footsteps moving closer to the spot under the ray shield. Where is General Skywalker?

“Fives? It’s Rex.”

Just Rex? No no no, Fives needs to talk to the General! Rex isn’t going to be able to convince the Jedi Council of what the Supreme Chancellor has planned any more than Fives will.

“Captain?” Fives croaks. The footsteps stop. “Where’s General Skywalker? Is anyone else with you?”

“He’s-” Fives hears a small sound, like an aborted sigh. “We just got back to Coruscant, Fives. You know where he is.” Oh, with Senator Amidala, then. Which is normal. But Fives thought, with everything going on, that General Skywalker might answer his comms for a change.

“And, no, it’s just me. I didn’t bring anyone else.”

“Okay.” Fives feels like his thoughts are wading through a Mimbanese swamp. He’ll just have to adjust the plan on the fly. As usual. “Captain, thank you for trusting me.” He grimaces. It sounds like he’s been drinking nothing but Chance’s contraband, alcoholic monstrosity for a week. “I... I need you to put down your blasters.”

Rex sighs. “Is that really necessary? It’s just me, Fives.”

“Please, sir.” This has to work. “Please, I’m unarmed.” Fives holds his breath.

“All right. I’m putting my pistols down.” There’s a quiet clatter. “What’s going on, Fives? Talk to me.” Rex’s footsteps start up again, moving closer.

Fives swallows, mouth dry. “I need your help.” His head is pounding.

“I know, but I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s going on.” It’s dark in the warehouse, but Fives can just barely see Rex’s shadow under a shelf full of crates. He should be under the shield generator any moment… “They said _you’re_ sick, too? With whatever put Tup in a coma?”

So they’re still going with the virus theory, then. “I’m not sick, sir! And neither is Tup. But Nala Se drugged me with something right before we got here, and—You have to believe me. Please!” Fives reaches for the control panel, hand shaking.

It’s quiet for a moment. “I trust you, Fives.”

Fives pauses. Rex is right under the shield generator.

“After Umbara? Of course I trust you! Just come out so we can talk.” Rex’s voice is moving closer. Fives sighs, dropping his hand and climbing to his feet, knees wobbly. Hopefully he isn’t making a big mistake.

Fives’ vision tunnels for a moment, but he edges around the crates he was hiding behind.

“Captain.”

Rex stops, peering at Fives in the dim light. Apparently he doesn’t like what he sees because his eyebrows scrunch together like they do whenever anyone mentions Echo. He raises his empty hands and steps forward. “You look like shit.”

Fives is positive the floor is moving, but huffs something intended to be a laugh and tries to walk as normally as possible, taking a couple steps away from the stacks of crates. “Yeah, Nala Se gave me the good stuff,” he mutters with a grimace.

Rex frowns even more. “Why would she—Okay, we’ll deal with that later,” He’s telegraphing his movements as he closes the distance between them. After everything that’s happened since Ringo Vinda, Fives can’t help but twitch when Rex’s hands rest on the spaulders of his stolen armor.

Exhaling roughly, Fives reaches up and closes a hand around Rex’s wrist. “Yeah,” he agrees, nodding absently as he looks over his captain’s shoulder for any threats. “But we have to tell the Jedi! This is—we’re all in danger and they’re the only ones who can help.” He meets Rex’s eyes. “Please, you have to believe me.”

Rex gives him a gentle shake. “Whoa, whoa, slow down. Okay, uh...” Rex glances away, which means Fives probably won’t like what he’s about to say. “Don’t freak out, but since General Skywalker was _unreachable_ , Cody and General Kenobi were assigned to investigate this whole”—he shrugs—“...thing.”

Commander Cody and General Kenobi. Fives doesn’t know them like Rex does, but this… could work. Their help on Umbara probably stopped things from going even further south than they did, so Fives thinks— _hopes—_ they’ll listen to him.

“They’re gonna help, okay?” Rex is saying.

Fives nods, adjusting the plan in his mind again, thoughts frustratingly sluggish from whatever Nala Se stuck him with.

“They should be here soon…” Rex, one hand shifting to squeeze the back of Fives’ neck, turns to look over his shoulder, back toward the warehouse entrance. Fives hears a faint scuff, then Rex curses and pushes Fives up against the nearby stack of crates. Fives’ vision goes a little swimmy, but when he can focus again he sees a squad of Coruscant Guard troopers—and kriff, is that Commander Fox??—rushing toward them, blasters raised.

Then everything feels like it’s happening at once.

Fives tries to break Rex’s hold, but Rex has him pinned firmly to the crates. He’s blocking Fives’ view of the Corries fanning out from the entrance. There’s a blinding flash as a spotlight sweeps through the warehouse, accompanied by what sounds like a larty. Someone is yelling, “Step away from the fugitive!” then Fives jolts as Rex’s ‘Captain Voice’ booms out next to his ear. “Stand down! Fox, we don’t have all the facts, please!”

Fives’ chest feels tight. He can’t breathe. There’s more yelling—not a brother—booted footsteps coming closer. If they catch him—no, he needs to get away! He kicks out blindly, barely hooks a foot behind Rex’s leg. If he can throw Rex off balance, maybe he can get away, anywhere—

“PUT YOUR KARKING BLASTERS ON STUN!”

Fives freezes for a moment, the meaning of the words filtering through his foggy, panicked thoughts.

The not-brother voice yells, “Cody!”

Fives is able to squirm enough to look over Rex’s shoulder, just in time to see a white and orange figure hurtling across the room. “Dammit, Fox, don’t you point that at—” There’s a loud clatter of plastoid on plastoid, skidding on the floor, something heavy slamming into the crates a few meters away.

Rex’s voice in his ear, “Fives—ow, stop!”

There’s a strange ping in the air, but it’s not a sound. Fives feels it in his bones, and then it’s gone, but everything stops for an instant. Then, low and calm, “The fugitive ran off deeper into the warehouse. You must follow him.” Oh. That’s General Kenobi.

A few voices chorus variations of, “The fugitive ran off deeper into the warehouse! Let’s go, we have to follow him!” and Fives, face mashed between the crates and Rex’s pauldron, spots several of the Guards hurrying away. He scrabbles at Rex’s armor, still feeling like he can’t get enough oxygen, but Rex’s hold stays firm.

There’s still a lot of scuffling coming from Rex’s other side, where Fives can’t see. “General!” a brother’s voice calls. “Grab my”—the voice grunts in pain—“My blaster, it’s on stun!” Fives hears a particularly vicious thunk, like plastoid on the warehouse floor. “Fox, _what_ is—”

“Cody, get back!” That’s General Kenobi again.

Another quick scrape, the unmistakable shimmering sound of a stun blast, then the relative quiet of puffing breaths and the low thrum of the larty apparently parked on the landing pad.

Rex’s voice filters down to Fives, where he’s still pinned. “If I let you go, are you going to run off?”

Fives _wants_ to run. He can’t think straight, every muscle in his body feels like it’s about to snap, and he just wants to get _away_ . Somewhere _safe_.

But Rex sounds calmer now, and Fives can hear General Kenobi and Cody talking quietly. No one is running, or yelling.

Fives sags against the crates, and Rex makes a small, surprised noise as he transitions from pinning Fives to supporting most of his weight. “I’ll take that as a no,” he mutters, leaning back enough so that Fives can see Cody and the General.

General Kenobi is setting a blaster—Cody’s?—on a crate while Cody, sans bucket, bends over and pulls something from one of Commander Fox’s belt pouches. There’s a click and Cody steps back. Five’s vision swims for a moment, but he blinks a couple times to clear it, and when he can focus again he sees that Cody has shackled Commander Fox’s wrists. Cody looks down at the other Commander. The lights from the larty cast harsh shadows, and Fives sees a muscle in his jaw jump. His lip is bleeding.

He and General Kenobi turn to face Fives and Rex.

Fives tries to come to attention, swaying into Rex. “Please, sirs!” he blurts, “I swear, I can explain—”

Rex jostles him a little. “Fives.”

“You have to believe me. You’re in danger! It’s in our heads, and he told me! He _told_ me—”

“ _Fives_!” This time Rex shakes him a little harder. “That’s enough.”

Fives snaps his mouth shut.

Keeping his hold on Fives, Rex turns a little. “General Kenobi, Commander Cody. Thank you for coming.”

It sounds so normal, Fives almost laughs. He feels Rex take a deep breath.

“I—I think there’s something going on. I know Fives. He wouldn’t do this. There’s got to be—”

“Peace, Captain,” General Kenobi says, watching them both but staying a couple meters back, looking distracted. “I admit I’m curious to hear what Fives has to say, but I have a feeling the explanation won’t be a short one… I suggest we clear out before more of Commander Fox’s men show up. We can take the gunship back to the _Vigilance_.”

Cody turns to his General, apparently sharing some silent communication with him, then nods. “Right, sir.” He steps close to Rex and Fives, and Fives locks his wobbly knees.

“Commander Cody, sir. Thank you.”

Cody holds up a hand, interrupting Fives. “Save it, for now. Rex, you got him?”

Rex nods. “Come on, Fives.” He shifts an arm behind Fives’ back and bends a little to let Fives sling his own arm over Rex’s shoulders. Fives notices General Kenobi and Cody picking up Commander Fox between them, but then Rex is moving. Fives does his best to support his own weight, but he keeps listing to the side. They have to stop more than once so Fives can sag against Rex and swallow hard to avoid puking.

Between all the stumbling and gagging, Fives manages to be annoyed. He’s an ARC. He should be tougher than this. “S—Sorry…” Fives tells Rex, maybe more than once.

Fives feels Rex’s hand pat his chestplate. “S’okay, Fives. Slow, deep breaths, alright?”

Fives tries to nod.

“Just a little further,” Rex adds. “We got my deeces but my bucket’s on the speeder.”

“Mmm,” Fives hears himself mumble. This is a lot of walking. Sitting down behind those crates was so much easier.

Finally, Rex tells Fives to step up so they can get on the larty. Fives can’t really feel his feet, but he tries to pick them up. He’s dizzy and winded, and black spots dance in his vision. Now that they’re not moving, though, the ringing in his ears—how had he not noticed that before?—starts to fade.

The larty’s interior comes back into focus, and Fives sees Cody and General Kenobi standing nearby. Commander Fox is lying on the floor. Rex’s grip on Fives’ waist tightens, shifts a little. Fives blinks hard, looking up. Rex has one hand on a grab handle overhead while he holds Fives with the other. Fives tries to reach a handle and hold himself up, but he somehow misses and the world tilts again.

“Relax, I”ve gotcha.” Rex says, and Fives grunts in vague acknowledgement.

He looks up to see General Kenobi doing the beard-stroking thing and staring off into space like the Jedi do sometimes. Next to the general, Cody addresses his wrist comm. “Oddball, get us back ship-side, and have Hazard meet us in the hangar with two stretchers and some blankets.” He pauses and glances at Fives, looking wary, before adding, “As discreetly as possible.”

Cody’s wrist comm crackles. “Yes, sir.”

The doors slide shut and the ship rocks gently as they lift off. Fives’ legs still aren’t cooperating, so he keeps a tight hold on Rex. There’s a clack on the floor and Fives looks down to see Cody kneeling over Commander Fox. Cody strips off the Guard’s right vambrace and presses a finger inside the wrist section, obviously powering the comm unit down. Cody seems to hesitate, then slowly removes Commander Fox’s bucket as well, stopping his head from thumping against the floor with a hand. Cody pauses again, just looking down at Commander Fox—even in the dim light inside the larty, Fives thinks he sees deep shadows under the Guard Commander’s eyes. Eventually, Cody fiddles with the bucket, sets it down, and stands to address the general.

“I turned off Fox’s helmet and wrist comm. I figure, until we know what’s going on, it’s best if no one realizes he’s with us.”

General Kenobi nods. “Good idea, Cody.”

Cody opens a storage locker tucked into the corner, pulling out his banged up, visored bucket and putting it on. Fives sees him reach into the locker again, and when he steps back he’s holding a shiny bucket. Approaching Fives and Rex, Cody holds it out and jerks his head in Fives’ direction. “Put this on until we get to medbay.”

Fives nods slowly, reaching for the bucket, but he almost fumbles it out of Cody’s hands.

Rex makes a noise near Fives’ ear, letting go of the grab handle and taking the bucket from Cody. “Thanks, Codes,” he says, voice barely audible over the rumble of the engines, and shimmies the bucket onto Fives’ head, squashing his nose a little.

Fives is thankfully coordinated enough to paw at the outside of the bucket and shift it into a slightly more comfortable position. At least it smells like a new bucket.

The overhead speaker sputters to life. “Approaching the _Vigilance_.”

Fives glances at the nearest viewport. The sky outside isn’t the black of space, so the _Vigilance_ must still be in-atmosphere. The larty rocks, and this time Fives is pretty sure it’s not just his vertigo. There’s the familiar sensation of swaying forward as the ship slows, a slight shudder, and the doors slide open.

Fives swallows back another wave of nausea as he watches a medic with close-cropped hair step onto the larty. Hadn’t Cody just said his name earlier? Frustrated, Fives tries to untangle his own jumbled thoughts, but he just can’t remember the name...

“General, Commander.” He salutes, then looks down at Commander Fox on the ground, and back to Fives and Rex.

Another wave of dizziness hits Fives, and he blinks hard a few times. Trying to get his bearings again, he hears, “—s the sitrep, sirs?”

Cody takes the medic aside while General Kenobi steps toward Fives and Rex. “Captain,” he says, then pauses, looking over at some brothers in orange vests nearby. Turning back to Fives, he continues quietly, “Keep your helmet on for a little longer, alright?”

Fives’ sluggish brain can’t make sense of why General Kenobi would suddenly tell him that, but he tries to nod anyway.

“Now then,” the general says, apparently satisfied, “allow me to assist while Cody speaks with Hazard.”

Fives thinks he utters some kind of agreement, and hears Rex’s voice, but it sounds tinny and far away. With a jolt, Fives realizes his eyes have drifted shut again, and he opens them to find that General Kenobi’s shoulder is under Fives’ unoccupied arm, and the three of them are in front of a stretcher. No, no, he doesn’t—

“Sirs, ‘m fine,” he slurs, “I can… I d’n need…”

Rex is moving, Fives feels a hand squeeze the back of his neck gently.

“Come on, Fives, we’re just gonna help.” Rex must have taken his own bucket off at some point. He’s peering into Fives’ visor, eyebrows scrunched together again. Fives hates it when Rex makes that face. “You’re safe.”

Fives might nod. He’s not entirely sure. Everything is very fuzzy…

He twitches when he feels hands moving, grabbing him. The world tilts crazily. He thinks he kicks a leg out. Someone mutters a curse. Fives’ vision blacks out. His ears are ringing…

Fives feels himself gasp, jolting again as he sees grey walls—no... ceiling?—sweeping past him. The medic—Hazard, Fives’ foggy mind finally supplies—is next to him, saying something as they move. The ringing in Fives’ ears slowly starts to fade, and his head feels less swimmy.

Unbidden, lines from the field medicine guides Fives memorized for ARC training float through his mind: _Syncope is caused by a temporary drop in the amount of blood that flows to the brain. Lying down can help prevent an episode, as it lets blood get to the brain. In cases where…_

Oh. That makes sense.

Fives turns his head slightly, sees Rex walking next to him. He waves an uncoordinated hand in Rex’s direction.

Rex looks down at him, takes his hand. “Almost to medbay, Fives. We’re gonna figure out what’s going on, okay?”

Medbay… Medbay—“Tup!” Fives chokes out, “Tup’s w’th Nala Se!” He squeezes Rex’s hand. “You can’t trust ‘er!”

“Calm down, trooper,” Hazard says on his other side, getting a hand on Fives’ chestplate. “You’re in no shape to be worrying about anyone else right now.”

Rex squeezes Fives’ hand in return, looking back toward Fives’ feet.

“Tup is with Master Ti,” General Kenobi’s voice says. “I don’t know much, but she has brought him to the Halls of Healing at the Temple. He’s in good hands.”

Fives breaths out, sagging. Okay. Okay…

They turn and a door above Fives’ heads wooshes. He sees machines and empty beds as they move further into the room. The smell of bacta wafts through the filters in the shiny bucket. Another turn, and Fives feels the top of the stretcher lock into the wall. Hazard taps on the side of the stretcher, and the part under Fives’ head and shoulders slowly tips up so that he can see the rest of the room now without straining his neck.

Hazard reaches forward, pulling the bucket off Fives’ head. “Hold still,” he instructs, as he sets the bucket aside and starts fiddling with the wall-mounted machines by the bed.

Fives doesn’t have the energy for much else at this point. He still feels nauseous and wrung out, and like he ran 10 klicks in full kit, but at least lying down seems to have cleared his head a little.

The machines start whirring and beeping, likely running scans.

Blinking, Fives takes in the situation, looking past his own feet to see Cody across the way, lifting blankets off of Commander Fox, where he lies on another stretcher-turned bed attached to the opposite wall. They must have wanted to conceal the Guard Commander’s distinctive red armor on the way to medbay. Rex and General Kenobi are nearby, but otherwise the medbay is empty. The _Vigilance_ must have been on Coruscant long enough to unload patients planetside.

Hazard, still occupied with the machines next to Fives’ bed, calls over his shoulder, “Commander, please secure Commander Fox. Straps are tucked into the underside of the stretcher. If he wakes up acting like you described, I don’t want him trashing my medbay.”

Cody nods and starts pulling out straps, while General Kenobi moves to the opposite side of the bed to help. Rex stands near the foot of Fives’ bed, looking uncomfortable.

The machines issue a few assertive-sounding beeps, and Hazard pitches his voice loud enough to carry to the general and Cody while he taps at the largest console. “He’s dehydrated, his cortisol is very elevated, and he wasn’t lying about being drugged.” The medic’s tone takes on a sharper edge as he looks at Rex. “You said Nala Se did it?”

Rex nods grimly.

Hazard scowls and addresses Fives directly, “I’m surprised you were even slightly coherent after getting dosed with all this. I can’t get the drugs out of your system at this point, but I’m going to give you some hypos that will counteract the effects of the cocktail and put you on an IV drip.” He looks up at Rex. “If you hadn’t gotten him here for treatment, there’s a chance he wouldn’t have survived.”

Rex looks murderous.

The machine pings and Hazard grabs a few hypos out of a drawer under the console. He pulls Fives’ collar down and presses each one into his skin with a hiss. Hypos never hurt much, but Fives has never liked the jolt of cold liquid under his skin.

He feels like he drifts for a few minutes, watching Hazard bustle around. The medic tosses the hypos down a small hatch, then disinfects the back of Fives’ left hand —it’s cold. Fives barely feels the needle, and then Hazard is covering the area with one of those clear tape thingies. By the time he’s done, Fives already feels less foggy and nauseous.

Hazard pulls his gloves off, disposing of them. “You’ll be fine in a few hours.” He produces a bottle of water from somewhere and hands it to Fives. “Drink this, too.” Then he turns away to make a beeline for Commander Fox. He addresses Cody, who looks to be finishing up with the restraints, on the way. “Just stunned? No other trauma?”

Cody grimaces, and Fives suddenly remembers that he and Commander Fox are supposedly batchmates from one of the first groups of CCs. “I… When I was trying to subdue him, he hit his head pretty hard on the concrete. Had his helmet on at the time, though. His left wrist might be sprained or broken, too.”

Hazard hums absently, looking at a readout by Commander Fox’s bed. After a few moments he nods, “Stunned, mild concussion, two hairline fractures in left wrist, moderate tear in right PCL…” He pauses as more lines of information appear on the screen, too far away for Fives to read. “As well as dehydration, several injuries that happened before today—grade 2 sprain of the right ankle, three fractured ribs, severely pulled muscle in right shoulder—and his insulin—” He glances back at the rest of them, apparently remembering he’s not addressing other medics. “Well, a number of his hormone levels are way out of the normal range, and his cortisol is much worse than Fives’.”

General Kenobi strokes his beard, studying Commander Fox. Cody’s lips pull into a tight line as he and Rex share a look.

Fives fumbles with the water bottle, and Rex grabs it to twist off the cap. He hands it back, and Fives takes a grateful drink.

Hazard has started working around the restraining straps to remove parts of Commander Fox’s armor while the nearby machines whirr, presumably dispensing whatever hypos he needs. “He shouldn’t be unconscious for much longer. I’m going to administer some bacta to the injuries and give him a pain killer, but I assume you’ll want to talk to him when he comes to, so it won’t be anything that affects his cognition.”

“Thank you, Hazard.” General Kenobi says, “And, I apologize. I’m sure you’d rather Fives had more time to recover, but there’s something… Well, we need to find out what’s going on as soon as possible.” He waits for Hazard’s begrudging nod before approaching Fives’ bedside. Cody and Rex leave Hazard to work while they do the same.

Whatever Hazard gave Fives is definitely helping, but now that he can think more clearly, he’s acutely aware of three superior officers watching him expectantly. Fives swallows, licking his lips.

Cody is the first to speak. “Okay, Fives, time for some answers.” He’s gotten his expression under control, but his voice sounds softer than the last time he addressed Fives. “We know you were drugged, but do you remember attacking the Chancellor?”

“I—” Fives feels a surge of panic again, but tamps it down and works to control his voice. He’s an ARC. He can handle this. “Sirs,” he begins, straightening as much as he can while lying propped up. “Thank you for giving me a chance. I know this looks bad, but I have vital information—things I found out on Kamino, and from—” Maybe he should lead with the chip information and tell them what the Chancellor said later. If he starts out the other way around they’ll definitely think he’s crazy.

He turns back to the general, saying, “Well, I’m sure you’re aware, sir, that trooper Tup killed General Tiplar on Ringo Vinda. He was restrained immediately, but afterwards he was barely even aware of his surroundings. And when he was, he didn’t remember shooting the general. He was…” Fives clears his throat, which feels uncomfortably tight. “Confused. And… He kept saying, ‘good soldiers follow orders,’ then tried to attack General Tiplee.”

“Anyway,” Fives continues, glancing at Rex, “I’m sure Captain Rex put it all in his reports, but eventually we got Tup to Kamino. And Nala Se, the Chief Medical Scientist, said she needed to run tests on me as well. They didn’t find anything, but I could see into Tup’s exam room and they were—he was struggling. He looked so scared, and I—”

Movement catches Fives’ eye and he looks up to see Commander Fox stirring on the other bed. Hazard has already removed the armor on his left arm, both legs from the knee down, as well as his right spaulder. The medic is holding a hypo—probably bacta, considering how many injuries the commander has—but he sets it down and steps up to the bedside.

“Commander Fox, please remain calm. You’ve sustained a number of injuries and I don’t want you aggravating them any further.”

Fives sees Commander Fox lift his head and glance around the medbay, but something is off. His expression is too flat. But maybe that’s just the concussion?

The commander pauses his survey of the room to regard Fives while Cody strides over to stand next to Hazard. Voice tight, Cody asks, “Fox, are you okay?”

Commander Fox ignores Cody, and Fives watches his gaze crawl up Fives’ face, landing on his tattoo.

“ _Fox_ ,” Cody repeats, “What’s—”

“ARC-5555!” Commander Fox snaps, and Fives can’t help but flinch at his designation being used in that tone of voice. “You have attempted to assassinate the Supreme Chancellor. Do not try to flee.” The restraints creak as the commander struggles against them, apparently ignoring three cracked ribs, among other things.

Hazard presses a hand to Commander Fox’s left shoulder. “Sir, if you don’t cooperate I will be forced to sed—”

The commander turns his head, focusing on Cody for the first time, “CC-2224, I’m under orders to execute ARC-5555. Release me immediately so I can neutralize the threat.”

Cody goes very still, and even though Fives can only see the side of his face, he looks suddenly pale. Rex tenses and takes a step toward Cody, but seems to settle on placing himself between Fives and Commander Fox.

Fives caps his water bottle and sets it on the cot, leaning to the side to see around Rex.

Commander Fox continues struggling and alternates between issuing orders to his brothers and firmly requesting that General Kenobi ‘neutralize’ Fives, despite Hazard brandishing a hypo at him. Fives suppresses a shiver, reminded of Tup’s tone of voice when he’d yelled, “Kill the Jedi!”

“Cody.” General Kenobi steps around Rex to stand close to his commander, “you and Commander Fox grew up together, correct?”

Cody’s still staring at Commander Fox like he’s grown another head. “Yes, General. We—He hasn’t called me that since we were 4 standard, sir.” Setting his jaw, Cody steps a little closer to the bed. “Fox, what’s going on. And stop with the execution nonsense. He’s a brother! Why the kriff didn’t you have your squad’s blasters on stun??”

Hazard frowns at Cody, but before he can scold his CO, Commander Fox snarls, “ARC-5555 attempted to assassinate the Supreme Chancellor. My orders are to take whatever measures are necessary to remove the threat.”

The way he’s talking is making Fives’ skin crawl. He’s never met the Guard Commander before, but brothers don’t talk like this— _people_ don’t talk like this.

Cody opens his mouth again, but Hazard steps between him and Commander Fox. “Sirs,” he says firmly, looking at Cody and General Kenobi, “I’m going to need to sedate Commander Fox before he aggravates his injuries.”

General Kenobi turns to Hazard. “Can you sedate him enough to calm him, but keep him conscious?”

“Of course, sir.” Hazard turns away, tapping at the console on the wall.

Cody raises his eyebrows. “Sir?”

General Kenobi has his ‘I’m thinking Jedi thoughts’ face on again. “I have an idea. It won’t hurt him, Cody. I promise.”

Cody nods, but Fives thinks he looks _more_ worried, if possible. Fives can’t blame him, though. In his experience serving under General Skywalker and Commander Tano, Fives has determined that when Jedi have _ideas_ , it usually means something extra bad is going on.

Despite Commander Fox’s continued struggling—Fives definitely just heard a popping sound from the underside of the bed, where the restraints are anchored—Hazard manages to stick the Guard with a hypo. “It’ll be a few minutes, sirs.”

Obi-Wan nods at the medic.

Cody looks a bit like a cadet about to face his first live-fire exercise. He turns to Rex and Fives. “Something isn’t right. He’d never kill a brother.”

Fives can’t see Rex’s face, but from the set of his captain’s shoulders, he’s angry. After a moment, Rex exhales a long breath, slumping a little. He looks at Commander Fox, who has already quieted, only moving sluggishly now. “You’re right. He was always an ass to me, but—” Rex stiffens, apparently remembering that General Kenobi is right there. “Apologies, General!”

General Kenobi waves a hand, offering Rex a smile. “Quite alright, Captain. I heard worse from Anakin yesterday when he was complaining about rations on the _Challenger_.” His face goes serious again as he crosses his arms. “Now then. Commander Fox is clearly not himself. And neither were any of his men back at the warehouse. I didn’t notice it at first, but Cody, when they didn’t respond to either of us telling them to stand down…” He hums. “I can’t put my finger on it, but something about them—about the commander now—feels… twisted. Like there’s a tangle of wires I must push through, just to feel him in the Force. It was the same when I reached for his squad member’s minds, and when I told them that Fives had run off, they…” He seems to be searching for the right words. “Well it was a little like a stalled engine. For just a moment I didn’t think it would work, then their minds juddered, and it was like a switch had flipped… It somehow felt too easy, influencing eight people like that.” He looks up at Cody, almost apologetically. “I had to chance it though. In any case, the sensations were all very subtle, like nothing I’ve felt before…” He trails off, looking lost in thought.

Like a switch, huh? Fives doesn’t know much about the Force, but maybe that’s somehow related to what happened with Tup. When he was going back and forth between being himself and muttering about following orders, it was abrupt, almost like a switch was flipping. Fives recalls the two Coruscant Guard troopers who’d been with him and the Chancellor when General Ti and Nala Se had left the room. They’d acted like they didn’t hear any of the crazy things the Chancellor was saying, and only reacted when Fives grabbed one of their blasters…

It’s now or never.

“General Kenobi, sir. I think the information I uncovered might be related to this. I—I know it sounds crazy, but there are chips—biological chips—in our heads. In all of us clones.”

In his peripheral vision, Fives sees Rex, Cody, and Hazard turn sharply to look at him.

Rex takes a step closer to Fives. “What do you mean, chips?”

Fives grimaces, running a hand over his face: “On Kamino. A med droid recommended they do a—a level 5 atomic brain scan on Tup. Nala Se didn’t want to, but I snuck around and got the droid—AZI—to do it, and there was something in Tup’s brain. It looked like a tumor on the scan. AZI told Nala Se about it, but she just said the scan was _wrong_ , and Tup just had a virus, and they were going to kill Tup to dissect him!” He stares down at his lap and tries to take a calming breath, hearing the others shift uncomfortably. He’s not sure if the nausea churning in his gut is still from the drugs, or the thought of the Kaminoans poking around inside his friend—

“So I, uh, created a diversion”—he glances up at Rex, who is well aware of what Fives’ ‘diversions’ usually entail, and has already raised an eyebrow at him—“and got AZI to do surgery on Tup. He removed the tumor, but then Nala Se and General Ti found us, and Tup woke up for a minute. He said something about a mission, and nightmares, but then he… Nala Se said removing the tumor put him into a coma.”

Fives looks up as Hazard moves to stand next to Cody, a datapad and stylus in his hands. Cody glances at it, then up at Hazard, who informs him, “I thought I’d take notes, sir.” He wiggles the pad. “It’s disconnected from the network right now.”

Cody nods. “Keep it that way.”

General Kenobi gestures at Fives. “Please, Fives, continue.”

“I was told I had to stay on Kamino, and General Ti and Nala Se argued over what to do with Tup and the tumor. The general wanted them to go to the Jedi Temple first, _before_ the Grand Republic Medical Facility, and Nala Se didn’t look happy about it, but she agreed. But then she had a different droid”—Fives can’t help the flare of anger he feels, remembering the head scientist’s deception—“switch things behind the general’s back, so the case going with Tup wasn’t even the thing from his head! And then I found out I was—” He grimaces, glancing between the other three clones. Fives’ voice sounds small in his own ears when he continues. “The longnecks were going to recondition me and put me on sanitation duty.”

Cody and Rex jerk, like they’ve been physically hit, though Hazard seems to keep his reaction under control a little better. General Kenobi frowns, looking to Cody and raising his eyebrows like he’s asking for an explanation.

Kaminoan quality control is one of those things that no one really talks about. It just is. Every clone, Fives included, knows about it, and Fives has always assumed that, because the Jedi commissioned their creation, they knew about it too. The clones were all conditioned to revere the Republic and the Jedi, but despite that knee-jerk reaction, and how trustworthy the Jedi seem, that little kernel of knowledge has always sat at the back of Fives’ mind. _Most_ of the Jedi treat the clones like people rather than things. Some of them even risk their lives to protect troopers. So Fives has never been able to reconcile the Jedi’s altruistic behavior with their apparent apathy over how the clones are treated by the Kaminoans. It’s always forced him to keep a little emotional distance from the Jedi. Well, except for Commander Tano. She’s just a kid and probably doesn’t know, and anyway, she’s the 501st’s little sister. He misses her...

Fives feels distinctly uncomfortable in the silence that follows. They’re all watching Cody, who closes his eyes and takes a breath. The marshal commander is always so composed, but Fives thinks his eyes look pleading when he finally meets his general’s gaze. “I didn’t think… But, you really didn’t know, General?”

General Kenobi tilts his head, glancing at each of them briefly before answering. “No, Cody, please…” He frowns and gestures for Cody to continue.

Fives watches Cody’s face relax, and his shoulders ease down a notch, despite everything. Then he straightens and faces the general, voice dispassionate as he explains. “The Kaminoans are very particular about quality control, sir. Any deviation from the norm” —he glances at Rex, who clenches his jaw and rubs his hand over his short blond hair—“Is considered a potential defect in the product, and possible grounds for reconditioning. Or decommissioning.”

“Product—” General Kenobi scoffs, looking suddenly angry, before he shakes his head a little. He looks back to Cody, and Fives has seen that expression too many times to count. It’s the look a brother gives you after a battle, when he searches for a particular face or armor paint job and doesn’t see it, but asks you anyway, hoping you’ll prove his fears wrong. “Decommissioning…?”

Cody looks like he’s searching for the right words, but Fives answers for him. “It is what it sounds like, General.” He clears his throat. “Apologies, sir. But the Kaminoans don’t like to send out faulty products, so some of our brothers who didn’t perform well or behave the right way would just… disappear.”

General Kenobi’s already pale skin goes a shade whiter. His brow furrows and he breathes out through his nose, very slowly.

Hazard clears his throat. “Sirs, Commander Fox is calmer now.”

The general glances at Commander Fox like he forgot he was there. “Thank you, Hazard.” He pauses again, then turns back to Fives. “I would appreciate it if we could address this matter again very soon. However, I fear that time is short at the moment, and we have a more immediate concern. Fives, I must have a look at Commander Fox, but please, if you could give us the overview of what happened next.”

Fives nods. “Yes, sir. Long story short, I got my hands on the case with Tup’s tumor in it. I still had the med droid with me and we took a shuttle to make it look like we were escaping Kamino. But I needed more information, so we jumped out of the shuttle”—Rex levels him with a glare that makes Fives feel like he’s about to be scolded, so he hurries on—“and we snuck back into Tipoca City. We got to the Genetic Records Hall and found out that the tumor’s genetic code doesn’t match Jango Fett’s, and that it’s not completely organic. AZI said that likely meant it had been implanted at some point, and that it wasn’t a tumor, but an organic chip. So we snuck into an operating room and I had AZI look for a chip in me, and take it out.”

Rex does scold him this time, hissing, “Fives, you could have ended up in a coma, too, or _worse_!”

Fives thinks that’s a bit hypocritical of Rex, since he would have done the same thing, but he just shrugs. “Sorry, Captain, but it was a risk I had to take. For Tup. For all of us.” He clears his throat. “Anyway, I had a chip, too”—he taps the bacta patch on the right side of his skull—“but mine wasn't like Tup’s—not all grey and sick looking. AZI said Tup’s had malfunctioned, and mine was intact. So we went to the embryo room to find out if the tubies have them, too. And they do, after stage 3 of development.” He shrugs again, looking at Hazard, who nods and continues taking notes.

“That was when Nala Se found me, and General Ti as well. I told the general about the chips, but Nala Se said they were inhibitor chips, to make us less _aggressive_ than Prime.”

Rex snorts, “Why would the longnecks want beings created for war to be _less_ aggressive?”

General Kenobi hums in agreement.

“Nala Se wanted me decommissioned then and there, but General Ti said that, as I’m _Republic_ property”—Fives frowns. He knows General Ti was saying that to protect him, but it still rankles—“she would decide what to do with me, said I’d be sent here along with Tup and both chips.”

He studies the others for a moment. They all seem to be in varying states of shock, but no one’s called him a liar yet. “This is the part where you’re gonna think I’m crazy.” He sighs, feeling like he’s about to jump off a cliff with no repelling gear. “Nala Se got me with that hypo right before we landed on Coruscant, and I was starting to feel a little weird by the time they brought me to see the Chancellor. But I swear, I didn’t imagine this!”

Rex reaches out, giving Fives’ wrist a reassuring squeeze. “Fives, just tell us what you remember.”

Gathering his thoughts, Fives tries to suppress a shiver, but doesn’t think he’s entirely successful. “He… The Chancellor sent General Ti and Nala Se out of the room, so it was just him and me, and two of Commander Fox’s men. And he told me! I don’t know _why_ he told me, but he said that he was the one who ordered the chips put in us!” Fives shakes his head, feeling sick all over again. “He looked so.. Happy about it, but happy like a Nexu that’s cornered its dinner. And he said we were the keys to destroying the Jedi!” He rubs his hands over his face, unable to look at the others. “He said the chips would make us do whatever he wanted, and I didn’t believe him at first! I thought—But Fox’s men, the two guards in the room with us, they didn’t react at all when he said that, didn’t move a _muscle_!” He shivers, finally looking up. “Tup killed General Tiplar, but he wasn’t himself. He would never—He didn’t even remember doing it! What if the Chancellor is going to use the chips to make the rest of us do that?” Fives can feel his heart hammering in his chest. “What if he makes us turn on the Jedi?”

They all jump when General Kenobi’s wrist comm chimes, far too loud in the grim silence. He pauses, then glances at Cody and takes a few steps back to answer the comm.

“Master Kenobi,” the Chancellor’s silky voice oozes out of the speaker. Fives jerks violently, knocking the water bottle to the floor and starting to scramble off the bed before he even realizes what he’s doing, but Rex grabs his upper arm. They all turn to watch General Kenobi.

The general only hesitates for a moment. “Chancellor, how may I help you?”

“I only wanted to see if you’ve made any progress in the investigation. It seems as though Commander Fox has gone missing, but his squad reported running into you, Commander Cody, and Captain Rex when they discovered the fugitive in sector I-9. They lost him in a warehouse, however, and were not able to locate you and your men, either.”

Fives feels his hands twisting into the sheets so hard the fabric creaks. Rex keeps a tight grip on his arm. Cody takes a step toward General Kenobi—

“Commander Fox?” the general aks politely. “That _is_ concerning, but he is nothing if not capable. I do hope he reports in soon. I’m afraid we haven’t had any better luck, Chancellor. We arrived just as Commander Fox’s squad was chasing the fugitive deeper into the warehouse, but lost sight of him. He is likely trying to blend in as an anonymous trooper in the lower levels.” His words are precise and formal, but eyes seem to soften a little when they land on Fives.

The Chancellor’s voice continues over the comm, “Ah, how unfortunate. Such a horrible business, isn’t it, this clone losing his mind. He is clearly a danger to the Republic.” Fives grits his teeth around a whispered curse, turning away to glare daggers at the wall. “I can’t bear the thought of him hurting anyone else, so I beg that you take whatever measures are necessary to stop his rampage.”

Rex’s hand twitches where he’s still holding Fives’ arm.

General Kenobi is silent for the briefest moment, exhaling through his nose. “Of course, Chancellor. I am confident we’ll resolve this situation soon.”

“And may I ask if you’ve heard from Master Skywalker? I’ve been told the Council is still unable to reach him.”

Obi-Wan’s nose scrunches up briefly, like he smells something bad. “Apologies, Chancellor, but no. I fear that Anakin occasionally has what one might call ‘selective hearing.’”

The Chancellor chuckles. “Of course, he is still a young man, after all. And with so much responsibility at his age... Well then, I won’t keep you. Please update me with any new information, Master Kenobi.”

“Yes, Chancellor.”

The wrist comm clicks and General Kenobi holds down the close comm button, staring down at nothing for a moment.

Fives takes a sudden breath, feeling like there’s air in the room again. “Thank you, General. I—I know you’re taking a risk for me, and, well, I appreciate it, sir.”

The general looks grim, but his voice sounds oddly warm. “It’s you who have taken a risk for the rest of us, Fives. This is… hard to believe, I admit, but we cannot afford to ignore your information.”

Cody finally moves again, taking a step forward. “General, you’d better do what you need to do with Fox, then we have to get back to the _investigation_ or our absence will be noticed.”

“Quite right, Cody. We’ve already been missing too long.” General Kenobi moves to Commander Fox’s bedside with Hazard while Cody fiddles with his wrist comm, keying in a particular sequence that’s only unlocked on officers’ and ARCs’ gear, to open an encrypted channel.

Cody’s comm light flashes three times and he speaks into it. “Waxer.”

A pause. “Yes, Commander.” Waxer’s voice is crisp enough that Fives figures he’s using his bucket’s internal commlink to take the encrypted call, rather than his wrist comm. Safer that way, in case anyone is nearby.

“Are you still ship-side?”

“Yes, sir. Boil and I are just about done organizing supply transfers and we were going to head down soon with the last couple larties.”

“Good. Have Boil go on ahead. You get to the main medbay.”

“Yes, sir,” the lieutenant replies, but before Cody can disconnect, he asks quietly “Is everything alright, sir? We heard something about the 501st…”

“Not right now, Lieutenant. The General and I are heading to the hangar soon but I need you up here now.”

“Acknowledged, sir.”

Cody cuts the comm and steps up next to General Kenobi, who’s bent over Commander Fox, with Hazard hovering nearby like a hawkbat guarding its eggs. Fives can barely see what the general is doing, though, because Rex has wandered over to stand at the foot of Fives’ bed. Fives grabs his IV stand and scoots forward to dangle his legs off the edge, ignoring the unimpressed look Hazard shoots him, and nudges Rex to the side.

The general has his fingers resting on Commander Fox’s temples. The Guard’s eyes are half-lidded and he’s been quietly mumbling off and on, but is still calm. He twitches and Cody makes a grab for his hand, but stops halfway and clenches his fist at his side.

“Cody,” General Kenobi murmurs, eyes closed, clearly focusing on some Jedi stuff. “I know you’re worried for him, but…” he trails off, and Fives can’t see his face, but he sees his head tilt a little. Then the general gasps and staggers back a step. Cody gets an arm behind his back to steady him, and the general leans into it.

Fives makes a mental note to ask Rex about that if they all survive this.

Tilting his head closer to General Kenobi, Cody asks, “Are you alright?”

The general is pale, eyes wide, and Fives notices one of his hands shaking before he tucks it down by his side. “Y—yes, Cody, I’m alright. I just didn't expect… that.”

Rex steps closer to them, asking, “‘That,’ sir?”

Fives, figuring the vertigo is gone by now, decides to risk Hazard’s ire and slides off the bed. His legs feel stiff, but he manages not to stumble as he crosses the narrow aisle to join the others, IV stand hovering behind him.

General Kenobi straightens but still looks shaken as he answers Rex. “Something very dark, Captain.”

The general looks at Fives next, pausing like he’s organizing his thoughts. “Fives, I believe you’ve discovered something that none of us were ever supposed to know about. Hazard,” he says, intercepting the medic before he can herd Fives back to his own bed, “can you perform the scan Fives told us about here?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. Please scan Commander Fox. I believe you’ll find the same sort of chip that Fives spoke of. If you deem it safe, remove the chip and keep it as evidence.”

“Yes, sir.” Hazard shoos them all out of the way as he wakes up a med droid from its charging station.

Fives moves carefully, but mostly he just feels a little sore and _very_ tired. He can feel Hazard’s eyes on him as the medic starts prepping equipment, but apparently Fives looks well enough not to be a concern at the moment.

After they relocate, Cody is the first to speak up. “General, if the Chancellor is responsible for these chips, and you said you felt something ‘dark’ in Fox while he’s acting like this…”

Fives has heard General Skywalker mention that the Jedi suspect there’s a Sith involved in the Senate, somehow, but what Cody is suggesting is so much worse than Fives would ever have guessed.

Grimly, General Kenobi looks at each of them. “We can’t be sure yet. But for now, Cody and I must leave as soon as possible so as not to look more suspicious. And we need to speak with the Council.”

The medbay doors swish open and Waxer steps through. Fives has to give him credit for not even wavering as he takes in the scene and strides forward to stop in front of General Kenobi and Cody, saluting. “General, Commander.” He pulls off his bucket and glances at Commander Fox, his red paint obvious, on the nearby bed, then nods at Rex and Fives. “Captain, ARC Trooper Fives.” Waxer’s gaze sweeps back to Cody and he raises an eyebrow.

“Waxer,” Cody says, ”I need you to stay here while the General and I continue our search for the _fugitive_.” He casts a sidelong glance at Fives, who smiles ruefully at Waxer and shrugs one shoulder. “No one is to enter or leave this room unless the ship is about to explode, is that clear?”

“Yes, sir.”

Cody turns to fetch his bucket from a nearby bed, but Rex stops him. “Cody, I should come with you.” Then, to the general, “General Kenobi, I can pick up General Skywalker from—”

Rex freezes, mouth snapping shut. “If, uh, if we can reach him. On his comm. He can tell us where he is. And I can pick him up. Wherever he is.” He shuffles nervously and Fives wonders how he and Rex got stuck with all the _I can’t lie for shit_ genes.

General Kenobi smirks but apparently decides to take pity on Rex and pretend the captain _doesn’t_ know exactly where General Skywalker is.

Fives is sure that Rex is already making plans to space himself at the first opportunity.

Cody snorts very quietly, but composes his features and turns to his general “Sir, General Skywalker is friends with—with the Chancellor. If you’re planning what I think you’re planning, his presence might… complicate things.”

General Kenobi looks like he’s going to argue for a moment, then he deflates a little. Fives thinks his voice sounds a sad but weirdly fond when he answers Cody. “You’re right, of course, Commander.” Turning to Rex, whose ears are still red, he continues, “Captain, I think… Come with us for now, but I need you to find Anakin, which I’m _sure_ you can do. If he is not suitably _distracted_ already”—Okay, maybe the general isn’t taking pity on Rex after all—“please find some way to keep him away from the Temple and the Senate Rotunda. And if you can prevent him from answering any comms…” He frowns, looking thoughtful.

Rex clears his throat, shifting his weight like he does when he’s nervous. “I think I know a good distraction, sir. I have… Commander Tano’s com codes.” He glances up at General Kenobi, who blinks quickly a few times.

Rex looks embarrassed _and_ guilty now. “Apologies, sir, but she asked me not to tell anyone unless it was important and… this seems pretty important.”

General Kenobi’s voice sounds a little strangled when he answers. “Yes, Captain, I imagine that seeing…”—Cody shifts a little closer to his general—“Seeing Ahsoka again would suitably distract Anakin.” He swallows and smiles, tucking his hands behind his back. “I’m sure he’ll be very happy. Good thinking, Captain. Now then, gentleman.” He takes a couple steps toward the exit and turns back, waiting for Cody and Rex to join him.

Cody shares a look with Waxer, then jams his bucket on.

“Be careful, sir.” Waxer says softly. “Sounds like you’re up to your ears in whatever this is.”

Cody taps vambraces with the lieutenant then tilts his head in Five’s direction. “Fives will fill you in.”

Cody goes to join General Kenobi, murmuring something quiet to his general.

Rex steps in front of Fives and grabs the back of his neck, squeezing gently. Fives wants to go with them, wants to help. He hates staying behind while his brothers and the general go into danger. Swallowing against a sudden lump in his throat—he must still be feeling weak from the drugs—Fives pulls Rex into a hug, closing his eyes for just a moment when he feels Rex’s arms tighten around him. “Thanks, Rex,” he whispers, “for trusting me.”

“'Course, Fives.” Rex’s voice sounds a little scratchy.

The captain pulls away, setting his jaw, then follows after General Kenobi and Cody, snatching his bucket off a bed on the way.

The three of them step into the hallway and the door wooshes shut behind them.

Fives and Waxer both stare at the closed door for a moment while Hazard continues to bustle around behind them.

Waxer turns his head to regard Fives, raising an eyebrow.

Fives huffs. “You got a ration bar on you?”

The corner of Waxer’s mouth lifts a little. “Yeah, why?”

Fives smirks. He’s still worried about what’s going to happen, but he feels a little lighter. “I’m starving. I’ll trade you: info for a ration bar.”

Waxer snorts, but reaches into one of his pouches and holds the bargaining chip out to Fives. “I’m pretty sure the commander said you’d fill me in without the need for bribery.”

Fives takes the bar and starts tearing open the wrapper. “ _Technically_ , he didn’t give me any orders…”

“Less witty banter, more getting back into bed where you’re supposed to be.” Hazard calls over his shoulder. “Waxer, come give me a hand.”

Fives and Waxer share a smile, but hurry to comply. No one likes to be on their medic’s bad side.

+++

Fox slowly becomes aware of voices nearby. Brothers, talking quietly. A steady beeping sound. The smell of bacta. Medbay. But there’s a low hum all around—not the Coruscant Guard medbay, then. A ship. He cracks open an eye and sees 212th gold in his peripheral vision. The _Vigilance_? How the kriff did he end up here?

Vaguely, he hears someone mutter, “If we can’t get out of here soon, I’m going to eat this shiny armor.”

Fox shifts, starts to turn his head toward the figures but flinches and slams his eyes shut at a sudden flare of pain near his right temple. He tries to reach for his head but his arms are restrained. And he’s not wearing his armor.

Panic claws up his throat. Ignoring the sharp throb in his skull he forces his eyes open and pulls against the straps. His legs and chest are tied down, too.

A brother with a medic patch on his spaulder is suddenly standing over him, putting a hand on his shoulder. The hand is gentle, but his voice sounds oddly wary. “How are you feeling, sir?”

Fox feels like his head was scoured out by the bore brush he uses to clean the barrels of his DC-17s. But, oddly, even though his body feels strangely sluggish, it _hurts_ less than usual. He tests the restraints one more time then lets the medic’s hand settle him back on the bed. Did he get a head injury? He was on a patrol with a squad of shinies, and… He doesn’t remember…

“Sir?”

“Fine.” Fox grunts, and the pain in his head does begin to subside now that he’s not struggling. That’s not important, though. Where is his squad? “Why am I tied down?” he demands, “What happened?”

Two more brothers approach. The shiny is down to his blacks on his upper body, and the one with paint is missing his gloves and gauntlets. Now that Fox can see straight, he realizes the medic isn’t in full kit, either—his arms below the shoulders are bare, his blacks rolled up.

The not-medic with paint and a shaved head is saying, “Commander Fox, I’m Lieutenant Waxer of the 212th, sir. We’re on General Kenobi’s ship, the _Vigilance_ , and I’m under strict orders from General Kenobi and Commander Cody to keep you here for now.”

Fox bristles, but the medic interrupts firmly. “Sir, you’re still recovering from surgery and a number of injuries, and you’ve been asleep for…” He glances at one of the machine consoles. “Twelve hours.”—What??—“We’ll explain everything, but right now I need you to take a few deep breaths. You’re safe. You just need to stay still so I can run a few scans now that you’re awake.”

“Surgery?” Fox snaps, looking down at the blanket covering him, not noticing any missing limbs, at least. And twelve hours? He hasn’t slept more than four in a row since he got tossed off a roof by a Trandoshan spice smuggler last year. “Where’s my squad?”

The shiny—though he’s looking at Fox with a very un-shiny-like, calculated expression—shifts like he’s nervous. He has a 5 tattooed on the side of his forehead and a bacta patch further back on his head, right about where Fox’s own skull is still throbbing dully...

“What’s the last thing you remember, sir?” The medic asks, making some adjustments on the rack of machines next to the bed. Fox scowls, opens his mouth, shuts it. He’s had these memory lapses before, a lot more often than even the Guard’s CMO, Trip, is aware. But he’s usually been able to employ a combination of plausible excuses and bullying to talk his way out of this particular question when he’s ended up in medbay over the last… however long. Right now, though, there’s no believable scenario he can concoct to explain why he’s strapped down in the medbay of a Jedi’s Venator, surrounded by brothers who are looking at him like he’s a thermal detonator about to go off.

The maybe-shiny seems to study Fox for a moment, and before the medic can repeat the question, he says “ARC Trooper Fives, sir.”—the name sounds vaguely familiar… Cody might have mentioned him before?—“You don’t recognize me?”

Fox musters a glare to hide his confusion. Why would he remember some random 212th ARC? The 212th barely spends any time on Coruscant—ARCs even less than other troopers. Flatly, he says, “Should I?”

As if deciding something, Fives steps closer. He looks relieved for no apparent reason. “I guess not, sir, but I think I can explain why you don’t remember how you got here…”

+++

Thankfully the _Vigilance_ has been down to a skeleton crew since Cody commed Waxer fourteen hours ago, or the fact that the primary medbay has been off-limits the entire time would have caused a stir. As it is, Waxer has answered three comms from the bridge, two from the technicians working in the hangar, one from the 212th barracks office, and six from Boil, who’s been getting progressively crankier as the hours go by. Waxer’s only had a couple _very_ brief comms from Cody, and all Boil knows is that _something_ is going on at the Senate Rotunda because it’s locked down and half the Coruscant Guard has been called in to patrol the exterior of the building and keep civilians and news crews away. Apparently Commander Thire’s been in charge due to Commander Fox’s disappearance.

All things considered, the commander has taken the news about the chips… maybe _well_ is a strong word. But he only tried to force his way out of medbay once after they took off his restraints, and Waxer thinks he seems begrudgingly impressed with how Fives had uncovered this whole, _horrifying_ plot.

Waxer _really_ wants to get that thing out of his head _right now_ , but he can’t very well get brain surgery when he needs to keep an eye on things here.

Fives slept hard for a few hours earlier in the cycle, and Waxer convinced Hazard to get at least a couple hours of rest while Commander Fox was still asleep. Waxer was already on hour 10 of his shift when he’d come up to medbay, and he’s been awake since then. He’s not about to sleep until he hears from Cody or General Kenobi, though, so Hazard can complain all he wants.

Fives is lamenting the lack of sabacc cards in the medbay when a chirp from an empty bed alerts Waxer of an incoming encrypted call on his wrist comm. Three sets of eyes follow Waxer as he jumps off the bed he was resting on and snatches up his right vambrace. He spends a moment debating if he should take the comm on his bucket’s internals, but decides to at least answer the comm so the others can hear it, and if he needs to he can switch over.

He activates the line.

“Waxer, everything still okay up there?” Cody sounds tired, but his voice doesn’t have the same brittle edge it did the last time they spoke.

“Yes, sir. Commander Fox is awake and aware of the situation.”

There’s a pause, then Waxer hears a puff of air crackle the mic on Cody’s end. “Okay… Okay, good.” Apparently he picked up on Waxer’s meaning.

“I’m on my wrist comm now sir…”

“It’s fine, just wanted to let you four know what’s going on.”

The other three have gathered around Waxer. Commander Fox looks worried, but when he speaks, his voice is softer than Waxer has heard before. “You okay, Codes?”

A quiet snort over the line. “Yeah, Fox… Good to hear your voice.”

Waxer sees the tiniest smile curve the commander’s lips before he settles his features back into a neutral mask.

“Anyway,” Cody continues, switching back to what Wooley calls his ‘Commander Mode,’ “Generals Yoda, Windu, Kenobi, Ti, and Kolar confronted the Chancellor. Because of—well, they insisted they go in alone and had me and the guards who were still in the building wait down in the main lobby.” Cody doesn’t sound too happy about that, understandably. He always gets pissy when General Kenobi does something crazy without him.

“That was about 90 minutes ago, and it’s been hectic here so I’ve just now got a moment. General Kenobi is injured but not critically, and he confirmed that our _theory_ was correct.”—Waxer looks up at the others, who are all wearing matching grimaces. There’s definitely going to be some _interesting_ fallout from all this—“The other generals are more or less okay as well, and we’ve got the Rotunda secured and med teams on site.”

Commander Fox speaks up again. Waxer thinks he looks dazed, but can’t blame him. He’s been working under the thumb of the—well, the Sith lord, apparently?—for years. “And the Chancellor?”

Cody huffs. “Well, the upper levels of the Rotunda are practically demolished, but he’s dead.”—Commander Fox sways, and Hazard puts a discreet hand on his back to steady him—”Three of your men were with the Chancellor, and he... was controlling them, but General Windu was able to put them to sleep or something, so they’re okay. General Kenobi says he and the other generals were able to take the Chancellor by surprise, but it was still… not easy. ”

There’s a beat of stunned silence in the medbay. Waxer takes a breath, smiling. “Glad to hear you and the general are okay, sir.”

“Yeah… Hold on.” There’s a click—Cody’s probably switched to his bucket’s external comms. Silence for a few moments, another click, then, “Gotta go in a second, but Fives?”

“Yes, sir?”

“General Kenobi asked me to tell you what General Ti said: in addition to being in a coma, Tup was poisoned,”—Fives’ whole body goes rigid—“almost certainly by Nala Se, but he’s gonna make it. He isn’t completely out of the woods yet, but the Temple Healers did some Jedi stuff, I guess, and he’s even been conscious enough a couple times to ask for you.”

“Tha—” Fives clears his throat. “Thank you, sir.” Waxer pretends not to notice how wobbly his voice sounds.

“Hazard,” Cody continues, “If Fox and Fives are well enough to be released, they’re to report to the Temple. I’m about to accompany Generals Kenobi and Windu there now. General Skywalker and Rex will be meeting us as well.”

Hazard nods. “They’re alright to be released now, sir.”

“Good. Waxer, come with them for now.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Cody out.”


End file.
